Honolulu now fines people up to $99 for texting while crossing road

Hawaiian city police design punitive fee for when distracted walkers won't stop staring at their smartphones

Our smartphone obsession has reached a new low. The Hawaiian city of Honolulu has resorted to fining people up to $99 for staring at the devices, to try and force people to look up from their phones while crossing the road.

The new law gives police the power to fine people up to $35 (26.41) for their first offence, $75 for their second and $99 thereafter, perhaps expecting it to take quite some effort to get people to take notice.